{"id":1022,"date":"2011-11-28T07:14:07","date_gmt":"2011-11-28T07:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/11\/egypt-votes-in-post-mubarak-polls\/"},"modified":"2011-11-28T07:14:07","modified_gmt":"2011-11-28T07:14:07","slug":"egypt-votes-in-post-mubarak-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/11\/28\/egypt-votes-in-post-mubarak-polls\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt votes in post-Mubarak polls"},"content":{"rendered":"

28 November 2011<\/span> Last updated at<\/span> 07:14 GMT<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"VotersVoting is taking place over a number of days<\/span><\/div>\n

Egyptians are voting in the opening stage of the first elections since former President Hosni Mubarak was toppled in February.<\/p>\n

As dawn broke, people were already queuing to cast their ballots outside polling stations in the capital, Cairo.<\/p>\n

But protesters who want the vote to be postponed still occupy Tahrir Square.<\/p>\n

The head of the country’s military council, which took over after Mr Mubarak was unseated, has said the country is “at a crossroads”.<\/p>\n

“Either we succeed – politically, economically and socially – or the consequences will be extremely grave and we will not allow that,” Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi said in a statement on Sunday.<\/p>\n

He urged top presidential candidates Mohammed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa to give their support to his nomination for prime minister, 78-year-old Kamal Ganzouri.<\/p>\n

Monday’s voting begins an election timetable which lasts until March 2012.<\/p>\n

The first stage of the poll, running until January, covers elections to the 508-member People’s Assembly.<\/p>\n

Over the last nine days there has been a revival of the protest movement which forced Mr Mubarak from office, with hundreds gathered at its hub, in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.<\/p>\n

At least 41 protesters have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded as tensions flared in recent days.<\/p>\n

The protesters fear the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (Scaf) – which is headed by Field Marshal Tantawi and is overseeing the transition to democratic rule – is trying to retain power.<\/p>\n

“We reject any resolution taken by the military council – except for the handover of power to an authority that we approve. Then we will be making the decisions in Egyptian politics,” said protester Samira Hosni.<\/p>\n

Mass demonstrations – in Cairo and beyond – had called for military rule to end before parliamentary elections were held.<\/p>\n

There have also been smaller gatherings expressing support for the country’s interim military rulers.<\/p>\n

‘Dangerous hurdles’<\/span><\/p>\n

On Monday morning the numbers in Tahrir Square were small, while queues were forming outside polling stations in the city before they opened at 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT).<\/p>\n

“It was no use to vote before. Our voices were completely irrelevant,” one woman in central Cairo told the AFP news agency as she went to vote for the first time in her life.<\/p>\n

Another first-time voter said she was “voting for freedom”. “We lived in slavery. Now we want justice in freedom,” Iris Nawar told AP news agency.<\/p>\n

“We are afraid of the Muslim Brotherhood. But we lived for 30 years under Mubarak, we will live with them too.”<\/p>\n

Analysts say the voting procedure is complex and there has been little time for campaigning, so it is unclear how many people will cast ballots.<\/p>\n

There are some 50 million eligible voters in the country who will choose candidates from 50 registered political parties.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Field Marshall Tantawi held talks with leading political figures Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa to discuss the political crisis.<\/p>\n

The BBC’s Jon Leyne, in Cairo, says the man that the military council has nominated as Prime Minister, Kamal Ganzouri, has not gained traction or widespread support.<\/p>\n

Aged 78, he looked every one of his years at a recent news conference and is seen as a Mubarak-era figure, our correspondent says.<\/p>\n

\n
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\"Young<\/p>\n

Please turn on JavaScript.<\/strong> Media requires JavaScript to play.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

The BBC’s Lyse Doucet speaks to some young voters about the elections<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But Mr ElBaradei – who has said he would be prepared to lead a national government until a president could be appointed – and Mr Moussa are powerful political figures who would challenge the power of the army, our correspondent says.<\/p>\n

By naming Mr Ganzouri as prime minister, Field Marshal Tantawi is clearly trying to head off that threat, our correspondent says.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile early on Monday, a pipeline in Egypt which supplies Israel and Jordan with natural gas was attacked by saboteurs, Egypt’s Mena state news agency said.<\/p>\n

Witnesses reported seeing masked men driving away from the pipeline, close to the town of Arish, before two blasts were heard. It is the ninth such attack on the pipeline this year.<\/p>\n

\"Map<\/div>\n
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Are you in Egypt? Will you be voting on Monday? Are you taking part in the protests? Send us your comments using the form below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk<\/strong> or text them to 61124<\/strong> (UK) or +44 7624 800 100<\/strong> (International). If you have a large file you can<\/em> upload here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read the terms and conditions<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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